A fundraiser started to replace a memorial sign marking the place where Emmett Till's brutalized body was discovered in Mississippi's Tallahatchie River in 1955 has exceeded its $15,000 goal, the New York Daily News reports.
The memorial sign captured nationwide attention last week after filmmaker Kevin Wilson Jr. posted a photo showing the sign riddled with approximately 50 bullet holes. "Clear evidence that we've still got a long way to go," Wilson wrote under his caption.
It was not the first time that this particular sign has been vandalized since it was erected in 2007. The Emmett Till Memorial Commission put up eight site markers at important locations, including near the Mississippi river where Emmett's body was found after he was kidnapped, tortured and killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman while visiting relatives down South.
As the Daily News notes, officials have said that replacing and restoring the sign every time someone damages it or steals it goes beyond their financial capabilities. However, after news spread across social media, donations came pouring in, raising the amount to go toward replacing the sign to a whopping $19,200 as of 3 p.m. EDT on Monday.
More than 400 people have contributed to the effort so far.
"We have reached our goal! But we are not done. We hope to continue our work of telling the truth. We sincerely thank everyone for their support and for giving us hope," the message on the fundraising page at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center reads.
Read more at the New York Daily News.